How To Canter A Horse Video

The canter is the speed of a horse's gait between the trot and the gallop. Learn how to canter a horse properly from a horseback riding instructor in this equestrian video.

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Use outside leg to cue horse
Tap girth line
Hold position
Communicate with horse

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Kathy Kentala has been a horse enthusiast since she was six years old. Kathy owns the Bee Cave Riding Center in Texas and specializes in training youth groups.

Our rider is going to begin the transition to the canter. When a horse is asked to canter, most trainers have come to a consensus where we all use the same cue which would be our outside leg when we're considering being on a circle. So as our rider is on what we call our left rein or the left hand is on the inside of her circle, she's going to ask for the canter with her right heel. She places that heel in a given position right behind the girth line as she sits up tall, keeps her eyes looking up and ahead to where she's going. The horse picks up his canter on his correct lead. A correct lead is that his inside leg, or in this direction his left leg, is stretching further. On a circle, the horse encounters what's considered centripetal force, and so by nature they have what we call the correct lead which is something that helps them to balance against that force. As riders, we're very aware of and we are constantly training for and asking for those correct leads. Our rider is going to hold her position, quiet and careful, communicating as simply and effectively as possible so we get this overall picture of harmony, kind of like a nice dance with our horse.

How to Canter a Horse Video

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